We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mersiha Kuennen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mersiha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The idea for the Giggles & Grace Foundation was born during one of the hardest seasons of my life, sitting beside my daughter Caliyah’s hospital bed. She was just a baby when she was diagnosed with NF1, and suddenly our world became a cycle of sedated scans, specialist appointments, and surgeries. I was trying to stay strong for her, but I remember how isolating and overwhelming it felt.

In those waiting rooms, I met other parents going through the exact same storm—tired, scared, juggling work and bills, wondering how we were going to keep everything together. And during one of Caliyah’s long hospital days, I remember thinking to myself, “I wish someone would just hand us a small care package… something simple to remind us we’re not alone.” That feeling stuck with me.

For us, that small gesture would’ve meant the world. It would have eased the stress for a moment, given us comfort, and made those long days feel a little less heavy. And when I realized how many families felt that same need—and how nobody was filling that gap in our area—something clicked.

I didn’t want other families to sit in those rooms feeling the way I did. I wanted them to feel supported, understood, and cared for. So the idea grew: what if we created something that delivered that comfort and compassion directly to the families who needed it most?

It started with care packages, but it quickly became bigger. It became about emotional support, community, and stepping in where the system doesn’t. I knew it would work because I wasn’t guessing what families needed—I was living it. I understood the pain points, the fear, the financial stress, and the emotional exhaustion. And I understood how much even one small act of kindness can change someone’s entire day.

What excited me most was imagining a parent opening one of our packages during a difficult moment and feeling a little lighter, a little more hopeful—feeling exactly what I had wished for during our own journey with Caliyah.

Giggles & Grace was born out of that wish. It came from wanting to turn our hardest moments into something good for others. It started with my daughter, but it’s grown into a mission that reaches far beyond us. Every time we deliver a package or support a family, I’m reminded of why this was worth building.

Mersiha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Mersiha Kuennen, and I am the Founder and President of the Giggles & Grace Foundation, a Nevada-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting families of children diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) and other rare medical conditions. My professional background is in investigations and legal services, where I have spent years navigating complex systems, advocating for vulnerable individuals, and ensuring families receive the support they are entitled to.

My introduction to the rare-disease community became deeply personal when my daughter, Caliyah, was diagnosed with NF1 as an infant. Our journey involved frequent sedated scans, specialist appointments, surgeries, and the constant uncertainty that families of medically complex children face. During long hospital days, I saw firsthand how emotionally and financially overwhelming the process can be, and how many families quietly shoulder these burdens without accessible support.

The idea for Giggles & Grace was born out of this lived experience. During difficult hospital visits, I often found myself wishing someone would offer us even a small care package to ease the stress of the day — something that acknowledged what we were going through and reminded us we were not alone. When I realized that this type of support was largely missing in our region, especially for families navigating rare conditions, I felt compelled to fill that gap.

Giggles & Grace Foundation provides:

Hospital care packages with practical and comfort-focused items (snacks, gift cards, diapers, water bottles, comfort items for children, and essentials for long medical stays).

Resource navigation and referral support, helping families understand medical pathways, insurance complexities, and available community resources.

Emotional support and peer connection for caregivers experiencing high levels of stress and isolation.

Limited financial assistance for urgent needs such as travel, food, or medical-related expenses.

What differentiates our work is that our programs are fully informed by lived experience. As a parent directly impacted by a rare pediatric condition, I understand the specific challenges families face — from the emotional toll of uncertain diagnoses to the practical hardships of repeated hospital visits. Our support model is designed to address real, immediate needs that traditional systems often overlook.

I am most proud that our foundation offers comfort, dignity, and hope to families during moments when they need it most. The feedback we receive from parents — many expressing that the care packages or support arrived “right when they were about to break” — reaffirms the importance and impact of this work.

What I want partners, donors, and stakeholders to know is that Giggles & Grace is built on compassion, integrity, and a commitment to bridging gaps in the rare-disease support system. Our mission is to ensure that no family navigating a rare pediatric condition feels unseen or unsupported. Through community partnerships, strategic growth, and the expansion of our care-based programs, we aim to elevate the standard of family-centered support across northern Nevada and beyond.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When my daughter Caliyah was preparing for yet another sedated scan, I remember sitting in the hospital hallway with a knot in my stomach. At the time, Giggles & Grace was still just an idea I was nurturing on my own. We had no funding, no partners, and no roadmap — just a mission I believed in with every part of me. That day, I watched a mother near me trying to juggle her child, paperwork, and the stress of not knowing how she would get home afterward. I recognized that look in her eyes because I had worn it so many times myself.

After we left the hospital, I sat in my car and cried — not out of defeat, but because I knew this mission needed to exist, even if I had to build it from nothing. I went home, wiped my face, and began drafting our nonprofit documents that same night. There were days I felt overwhelmed, days when donations were slow or paperwork seemed endless, but I kept showing up. I kept pushing through because I knew families like hers were depending on someone to do exactly that.

Resilience for me wasn’t loud or dramatic. It looked like quiet persistence — filling out forms at midnight, assembling care packages with my own money, showing up to hospitals with bags in hand, and refusing to let fear or exhaustion stop me. Every challenge strengthened my commitment. And today, when I see families open our care packages or hear a parent say, “This helped more than you know,” it reminds me why I kept going through every hard moment.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Funding Giggles & Grace began with something simple: my personal belief that families like mine needed this support — whether or not the money was there yet. We didn’t begin with a large grant or a major sponsor. In fact, the initial capital came directly from my own pocket. I used my savings to purchase the very first care package items: snacks, diapers, water bottles, gift cards, comfort items — the same things I once wished someone would hand to my family.

Every dollar counted, so I stretched every purchase. I compared prices, bought in bulk, and personally funded everything from packaging supplies to printing costs, nonprofit registration fees, and our first pilot deliveries. I treated every expense like an investment in a mission I believed in, not a risk.

Once I had proof of impact — photos of care packages, thank-you messages from families, and documentation of what we delivered — I began applying for grants, reaching out to companies, and building our donor pipeline. The early support we received wasn’t large, but it was genuine. Small donations, $25–$50 gift cards, and in-kind items helped us build momentum. Little by little, those small contributions added up and allowed us to expand our reach.

Our funding story isn’t glamorous — it’s grounded in sacrifice, faith, and community. I built the foundation of this organization with my own two hands because I knew the work mattered. And because of that, donors and partners now see the heart behind our mission and want to be part of it. That early self-funding wasn’t just capital — it was commitment, and it set the tone for everything Giggles & Grace stands for today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gigglesgrace.net
• Instagram: @gigglesgracefoundation
• Facebook: Giggles & Grace Foundation

Image Credits

Image credits: Giggles & Grace Foundation